1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the art of a system for selecting, previewing, and purchasing music and other products, and more specifically to a user interface employing mechanical wheels in conjunction with a touch screen, thereby enabling expedient product location.
2. Description of the Related Art
A user purchasing an item in a department store or other retail outlet is presented with only a certain amount of information. For example, a user may enter a retail music store and wish to purchase the latest CD by her favorite singer and a DVD of an action-adventure movie. Such a user must go to the proper section, locate the CD, ask to listen to the CD if desired, and purchase the CD. If the CD is missing, she has taken time to travel to the retail location and may walk away without the desired product. The user may go to the DVD section and search through the titles in the manner they are listed, which is frequently alphabetical and not by genre. Thus the user may not be able to readily locate her selection, and may not have all of the information she desires, such as a preview of the desired CD or the ability to purchase the product she wants.
Certain retail locations have attempted to solve the problem of inefficient information by employing point-of-purchase devices, such as a computer touch screen having listings of particular products sold at the retail location. The problem with these systems is that the user interface, or the ability for a user to locate the desired material, can be awkward or inefficient. A typical touch screen point of purchase system requires that the user type in the information he desires, which can be slow and clumsy. Alternately, certain pointing devices similar to a computer mouse have been employed, but in this scenario all of the choices must be presented and selectable by the user, and the user may have to penetrate several levels of menus to find the desired materials. Also, pointing devices can be inexact. The general drawback associated with these types of in-store systems is that they are slow and awkward to use, and are not as desirable to people accustomed to the rapid feedback associated with, for example, the internet. Further, the search methods tend to be either exhaustive in the sense that all of the titles are made available in one large database, such as alphabetical, or they are not necessarily inherently categorized, such as by genre or other logical category.
The older systems also tend to be stand-alone type systems in the sense that information is loaded or entered into the system and does not readily offer an ability to update. For example, a new DVD is only entered on the system once the CD has been categorized by the system originator, placed in a format acceptable to the system, and loaded on to the system, which may take weeks after the item becomes commercially available.
As improvements in technology result in more compact and more efficient devices, a wide variety of applications, products, and users continue to emerge. With the expansive growth of electronic commerce over the Internet, many consumers have familiarized themselves with making purchases through xe2x80x9cone-clickxe2x80x9d type systems. The typical user is more attuned to a rapid presentation of information and selection capability.
It is therefore an object of the current invention to provide an efficient, user-friendly product search and/or retrieval system and method for use in retail stores.
It is a further object of the current system to provide a system that enables a consumer to select, preview, and purchase products such as music in a fast and attractive format.
It is a further object of the current invention to provide a system that can be employed in connection with a high-speed network connecting retailers to a centralized storage repository for distribution that provides a relatively efficient means for storing, retrieving, and updating information for use by a consumer in a retail environment.
The present invention is directed to a system and method for selecting, previewing, and purchasing music and other products is disclosed. In particular, the system relates to a unique interface that combines the use of mechanical thumbwheels with a touch screen such that a user rotating one of the plurality of thumbwheels views a graphical representation of selections rotating in a fashion resembling a mechanical drum. The system uses a hierarchical selection method to provide a user with the ability to locate products expediently.
These and other advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the invention and the accompanying drawings.